


Three Wishes Granted and One That Wasn’t

by ca_ark



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 22:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1037130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ca_ark/pseuds/ca_ark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times that Klaus did as Caroline wished...and one time he didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wish One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I have a mortgage and a car payment. Since I have those, it should be obvious that I don’t own anything connected with the Vampire Diaries, book or TV, or the Originals. If I did, well, a certain pairing would be much more front and center.
> 
> Author’s Note: After starting and binge-watching Vampire Diaries in two months, enough that I’m caught up to the new season, I can’t get this pairing out of my head. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for crossover events, but until that time, I’m making it happen anyway. Apologies to Damon, he actually is one of my favorite characters, but I do hate what he did to Caroline in Season 1. This will be a four-parter, so bear with me as I post. I hope it’s not too OOC.

Wish One

It didn't take long for someone to determine the Mystic Falls Silas problem was intertwined with the New Orleans Marcel and Davina problem. The power Davina was wielding was linked directly to Silas and it became necessary for the two groups to unwillingly work together. Threats were issued, ultimatums shouted and eyes rolled during the initial reunion, but eventually a plan was devised. After rescuing Elijah and ensuring Stefan was back on the non-Ripper wagon, the scheme began. It took all of their combined efforts, including a mistakenly resurrected Bonnie, but they did win. Silas was desiccated and Davina stripped of her powers. Klaus had taken great pleasure in relieving Marcel of his head, especially after the former King of New Orleans had attacked and staked Caroline. Although Klaus had managed to keep his feelings for Caroline a secret from Marcel until that point, it became crystal clear when the hybrid roared into the warehouse, tearing apart the guards and descending on Marcel in a fury. 

The rescue of Caroline and destruction of Marcel had another result, the end of Marcel’s compulsion of Camille, the bartender with whom he had apparently been fascinated. She was sitting in Rousseau’s, after-hours, as everyone tended their wounds and discussed next steps. It was obvious she was still terrified, eyes darting everywhere and hands gripping the edge of the table. Caroline felt for her and slowly, so to not startle her more, joined her.

“Are you okay?” Caroline asked, knowing the answer already.

“No, I’m not,” Cami answered, her voice shaky. “I just found out that everything I've thought was real and normal in the world isn’t. All of these people I’ve seen every day are creatures that I didn't even know existed.” A tear escaped her eye and she quickly wiped it away. “I mean, you look like a normal college student and I saw what you did back there. I… I don’t know how to process any of this.”

Caroline sighed sadly. “I know you may not believe me, but I know exactly what you’re going through. I didn’t know any of this was real either, until I woke up after being smothered to death and was starving for blood. I won’t tell you that one day you’ll wake up and everything will be better, because that’s not how it works. But it does get easier. It does mean you’ll know things no one else does, but things make a little more sense.”

“How long have you been…this way?” Cami questioned softly.

“Two years. It seems much longer,” Caroline responded, a bit of laughter in her voice. “There’s been a lot that’s happened.”

Cami smiled slightly, but it faded quickly. Tears filled her eyes again and she whispered, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Caroline reached across the table, taking Cami’s hand in her own. “I think you can. You haven’t fallen apart after everything that’s happened the last couple of days and I think that says so much about you. You’re strong.” She paused for a moment. “But if you really don’t want the memories and knowledge, one of us can compel you to forget. It will be like none of this ever happened.” The tone of her voice clued Cami into her hesitancy to offer.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” 

Caroline smiled. “My views on compulsion have changed over the last couple of years. I try to only use it when I absolutely have to. Someone used it on me before I changed and it was hard to deal with when all those memories came back. But if you want, we can do that.” 

After a few minutes, Cami decided. “No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure Marcel was compelling me and who knows what else. I don’t want any more of that.” 

Once her decision was made, Caroline explained the advantages of vervain and that it might be a good idea to find some. Cami thanked her and headed to her house, escorted by Elena and Stefan. Rebekah and Elijah had gone out to round up any remaining Marcel-loyal vampires and Bonnie and Jeremy had returned to the hotel down the street where the visitors were staying. Caroline was about to leave herself after downing one last bag of B Positive when she was stopped by her rescuer. 

“I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion with Camille regarding compulsion,” Klaus said, standing between her and the front door. “Were you being truthful about past events or were you simply being empathetic Caroline?” 

She took a deep breath. This conversation ranked low on her list of things she wanted to do, but Klaus had saved her life not two hours before and she didn’t want to disturb the quasi-friendship they were maintaining. They hadn’t talked much since her arrival to New Orleans with the Gilberts and Salvatores, but she had still been so relieved to see him bust through the doors of the warehouse where Marcel had taken her. “Yes, I was telling the truth. I don’t like compulsion that much because of how it was used on me.”

Klaus took a menacing step towards her, but she knew him well enough to not be scared. After all, he had just decapitated his former protégé because he had the audacity to hurt her. “I’m surprised I’ve never heard this story before. As far as I know, you weren’t in contact with many vampires prior to turning. That doesn’t leave very many suspects as to who this person was.” Caroline frowned, worried where his thought process was leading. “Since you are friends with Stefan the search is narrowed even further.” His gaze left hers for a moment and flickered behind her. Caroline knew Damon was still in the bar and hoped he had enough sense to not get involved. 

“Klaus, it was a long time ago and so much has happened since then. There’s no reason to go dredging up old memories and stirring up trouble,” she said evenly, doubtful that her statement would be enough to keep Klaus from overreacting.

In less than a blink of an eye, Klaus was directly in front of her, raising a hand to her cheek. “Why do I have a feeling your denial is more about protecting him than the actual truth of what happened, love?” Caroline closed her eyes, letting his accented voice rush over her for one unguarded moment. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had missed hearing him over the last months. It was probably this momentary weakness that kept her from issuing a firm denial to his next question. “Did he hurt you?” 

Caroline eyes flew open and met his, which were filled with concern mixed with a healthy dose of anger. She should have immediately refuted the idea, but she didn’t. Instead her lips parted to speak but nothing came out. For Klaus, the lack of denial was as good as an affirmation. In the same miniscule amount of time he needed to be in front of her, he was across the room, slamming Damon into the wall using only the grip on the younger vampire’s throat to trap him. Caroline gasped at his sudden movement and rushed to intervene.

“Klaus, no, don’t do this. There’s no reason for it!” she pleaded. “It was forever ago.”

“What did you do to her?” Klaus spat out through gritted teeth. Damon grabbed Klaus’s arm and tried to pry his hand off his throat. “What was bad enough that you had to compel her?” The hybrid squeezed harder, making it impossible for Damon to answer.

“Klaus, please,” Caroline begged quietly, touching Klaus hesitantly. “He’s…changed since he’s been with Elena. And she would be devastated in anything happened to him. So please, don’t do this.” 

For a moment, Klaus didn’t move, continuing to apply pressure to Damon’s windpipe. Caroline could see Damon was fading as his attempts to break free were weakening. Suddenly, Klaus released him and Damon slid down the wall, slamming into the floor with a sickening crunch. Klaus leaned over him, every inch the slightly psychotic killer he had been when he first came to Mystic Falls. “Know this Salvatore. The only reason you’re not staring at your beating heart in my hand right now is because Caroline wished it. The very girl who you used is also the reason you’re still alive. I would remember that if I were you as even she may not be able to stop me the next time.” Klaus straightened and walked out of the bar. 

Caroline watched for a moment as Damon slumped to the floor. She considered helping him up, but decided against it, instead flashing out of the bar into the street. She immediately spotted Klaus walking down the street and she rushed to catch up with him. “Klaus, wait,” she said breathlessly.

“Now is not a good time Caroline. As you might imagine, I’m rather upset,” he answered as he continued marching down the sidewalk. 

“I know.” Again placing a hand on his arm, he paused and spun to face her. She gasped, the absolute fury in his eyes causing her heart to pound. She watched, fascinated, as the muscle above his jaw clenched and unclenched as he fought to regain control over his anger. At some point, Caroline would be forced to examine how Klaus’s reaction to her past made her feel, but it wouldn’t be now. Instead she squeezed his arm lightly, offered a shy smile and said, “Thank you.”

His jaw tightened again and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, some of the rage had dissipated and was replaced with the strange affection that was generally there when he looked at her. “One day Caroline, I may not be able to give you what you wish.”

“That’s why I’m grateful,” she answered. There were a million other things that flew through her mind but she knew she wasn’t ready to say them. When Klaus had first begun his weird and twisted courtship of her, she had been in love with Tyler and convinced Klaus was evil. Sure, some of the things he did were sweet and considerate and he had saved her a couple of times, but he was also responsible for some of that very same danger and had inflicted so much harm on her friends. However, over the last few months, she started to realize that the world in which she and her friends lived wasn’t simple good versus evil. Battling with Silas had shown that in full contrast. Klaus was no longer the worst person they had fought. That revelation, coupled with Tyler’s apparent abandonment, had begun a slow, slow change of heart of which she was only starting to process. Standing in the middle of a New Orleans street at 3:00 in the morning was certainly not the place to evaluate her feelings. So, she squeezed his arm again before moving her hand. “I’m going to head back to the hotel.”

She had taken only a few steps before Klaus was beside her. “I’ll walk you there,” he said. Caroline didn’t turn her head quickly enough and he saw her small, pleased smile. Hiding a smirk of his own, he offered his arm. One day, he thought, she will be my queen.


	2. Wish Two

Wish Two

Life in Mystic Falls was never easy. Well, technically this happened at Whitmore College, so maybe life for residents of Mystic Falls was never easy. Even though Elena and Caroline tried to keep their true identities a secret, word in the supernatural world apparently traveled, if not fast. Halfway through their senior year, a pack of werewolves descended on the area with a goal of ridding the campus of any and all vampires. Including the former doppelganger and her best friend. 

A text message from Tyler had alerted Caroline to the coming trouble; a member of his current pack knew a member of the pack planning the attack. This was the first she had heard from him in months but she was grateful nonetheless. Tyler had found a life outside of Virginia helping other werewolves learn to control their transformation and he had never returned home, outside of the random visit. Caroline had moved on as well, dating off and on throughout college. She was happy for him, but she was never able to fully forgive him for what she considered abandoning her. This feeling had led to their lack of communication prior to his text regarding the looming threat. 

That text had set things into motion. Stefan and Damon had practically moved into the girls’ apartment, ensuring they were safe, or at least Elena was safe. After a few days of this, the guys had gone on the offensive, tracking and hunting down one of the wolves and torturing information out of him. Bonnie then did a locator spell and found the pack’s hiding place. After carefully planning an attack, which had fallen apart in spectacular fashion in five seconds, the Salvatores, Gilberts, Caroline and Matt had defeated the pack, killing or scaring them all away. Except for the one that was hidden in a nearby cave, the one who managed to scrape his fangs across Stefan’s forearm before his heart was ripped out by, surprisingly enough, Caroline. They all had stood in the clearing for a full minute after; staring at Stefan and knowing what was coming.

They raced to the Salvatore Boarding House, desperate to get Stefan a supply of blood to ward off the poison. They had been inside less than a minute before Caroline was on the phone to the one person with a cure for werewolf venom.

“Klaus, it’s Caroline,” she said quietly when his voicemail greeting finished. “Listen, we ran into some trouble with a pack of werewolves and Stefan was bit. He’s okay for right now, but he really needs some of your blood. It just happened tonight, so we figure he has a few days. If you could get here as soon as possible, we would really appreciate it.” Her voice dropped even lower before she added, “I would really appreciate it.” Over the years, she had become hesitant to use their…whatever it was to convince Klaus to do anything. She may have been an eternal teenager physically, but she had grown enough since going to college to realize it wasn’t right to use Klaus’s feelings to manipulate him. Even with all the things he had done, he deserved at least that. This however was an emergency.

She ended the call and looked back at the group. Stefan gave her a weak smile, Elena looked concerned and Damon was Damon. “Here’s hoping your hold on him is still good, Blondie,” he muttered as he crossed the room to get a drink. 

“Yeah, here’s hoping,” she repeated, mostly to herself.

Twelve hours later and nothing. No text, no return call, not a word from the hybrid. This was unusual, the few times she had texted or called, she had heard back immediately, normally with an absurdly romantic sentiment at which she would roll her eyes but wouldn’t be able to hold back a smile. This time, though, when it was life and death, he had gone incommunicado. Another twelve hours and four more phone calls, each resulting in progressively anxious voicemails, and still nothing. Caroline began to worry, ashamed her initial response was anger when it was possible that Klaus was in trouble as well. 

“Klaus, it’s me. Again. You’ve never not answered before, so I hope you’re okay. But Stefan’s getting worse, he has a fever and chills, so the poison has started working. No hallucinations yet, but he needs your blood as soon as possible. I’m worried. About Stefan. And you. And now I’m rambling. Just…call me or something. Bye.”

After no reply to that message, Elena broke down and contacted Elijah, who explained that Klaus was fine but indisposed at the moment, helping Rebekah out of a mess in Europe. This news caused problems. Klaus was the only one who could cure Stefan and he was out of the country and according to his brother, almost unreachable. Damon called to order their private plane and asked Elena to call Elijah back for an exact location. It was a last ditch effort, but since Stefan had been moved to the Salvatore basement for safety, everyone was getting frantic. 

“Guess that pesky obsession with you finally faded. Too bad, it was occasionally useful,” Damon remarked as he packed a bag for the trip. Caroline bit her lip to fight back tears. She was afraid the group traveling to Europe, Venice they found out, wouldn’t make it in time. She hadn’t been asked to join the trip, so she was preparing to sit next to the phone for the next two days waiting on news about one of her best friends. Her fear for Stefan was the main reason for her tears, but it wasn’t the only thing bothering her. Klaus had never failed to help her before, whether it was something simple like finding a first edition book for her mother’s birthday two years ago to the daring rescue in New Orleans from his protégé. As Damon had pointed out, it appeared she wasn’t as important to him as she had thought and this hurt her more than she expected. 

Ten minutes before Stefan, Elena and Damon planned to leave for the airport, the doorbell rang. Caroline was the only one in the living room, so she walked slowly to answer it.

“Miss Caroline Forbes?” the deliveryman asked. When she nodded, he held out the clipboard to her. “I have a delivery for you that requires a signature.” Caroline frowned. No one except for her mother knew she was back in town, much less at the Salvatore’s. After she signed the paper, the man handed her a huge package, well-marked as REFRIGERATION REQUIRED. Still confused, she kicked the door shut and moved the box to nearest table. She ripped it open, finding a cooler packed in dry ice. On top of the cooler was a note addressed to her. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the old-fashioned handwriting.

“Caroline,” she read, “I apologize for my lack of communication. Cell service in this area of Venice is spotty at best, although the beauty of the landscape does make up for that fact. After I received your first message, I dispatched this package immediately. I would ask that you use the enclosure for Stefan in the immediate future and then save the rest for yourself, but I’m quite sure that will not happen. Knowing you as I do, sweetheart, you are more likely to run around saving anyone with the last name Salvatore or Gilbert who manages to tangle with a wolf without a second thought. So I will only ask that you use these sparingly, just in case a situation such as this occurs again. I will contact you as soon as I am back in the States. Love always, Klaus.” 

By this time, Caroline was smiling and laughing as she cried happy tears, overjoyed that Klaus had come through once again. She opened the cooler, saw twelve vials of blood and understood what his note meant. This was his blood, which he had sent to her. Saving Stefan was the instantaneous affect, but this was a contingency plan if anything happened to her. The fact that a shipment of blood had warmed her heart proved to her how much she had changed in the last few years. 

She grabbed a vial and raced downstairs. She threw open the door to the holding cell and poured the contents down Stefan’s throat before he knew what was going on. When his eyes opened, clear as day, her squeals of joy brought Damon and Elena rushing to the door. She hugged Stefan, hugged Elena, and even hugged Damon as she bounced back up the stairs. She returned to the package, closing the cooler and picking up Klaus’s note again. She reread it, lingering over a couple of words and smiling again at how thoughtful he was for sending extra supplies. That’s when she noticed the PS at the end of the note she had missed before. 

“PS: No matter what, love, I will always move heaven and earth to come through for you. Even if means sending my blood cross the globe at a moment’s notice. You will love Venice. –K”

“I guess I was wrong, Blondie,” Damon interrupted her quiet celebration. “Klaus came through after all.” Caroline quickly calmed her features, erasing any smile remaining on her face before facing him.

“I’m glad, since it saved Stefan,” she answered, perhaps a little too evenly for the situation. Damon’s eyebrows knitted together as he studied her. She waited impatiently, wanting to check on Stefan again before leaving. He suddenly smirked and looked at the paper Caroline was still holding in her hand.

“So, still saying you don’t feel anything for the psycho killer, huh?”

“He saved Stefan. Of course I feel gratitude. So should you,” she accused as she walked past him, heading back downstairs. 

“Sure. Gratitude is why you’re clutching that note like it’s a winning lottery ticket,” he called after her. His statement caused a hitch in her step, but she flipped her hair and ignored him. And if she slept with the note under her pillow that night, no one was the wiser.


	3. Wish Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So I'm extremely hesitant about his chapter. It has something in it that I've never done before. I apologize in advance to Liz Forbes. I, in no way, want this to actually happen, as she's my favorite parent on the show.

Wish Three

Caroline sat on the bed in her old room, desperately wanting to forget where she was and why. Even though she hadn’t lived in Mystic Falls for almost fifteen years, this house had always felt like home to her, no matter where she was currently hanging her hat. She had been traveling back from visiting a small town in France Klaus had recommended, but the minute she received the phone call, she had dropped everything and raced back as fast as possible. She had even compelled a couple of police officers to keep from receiving speeding tickets. 

She stared at her phone, thumb hovering over the saved voicemail, but playing it was unnecessary. She had listened to it a million times on the drive back, hoping she had misheard or that it was somehow a mistake. She could hear the man’s voice in her head and wondered if it would ever go away. 

“Ms. Forbes, this is Deputy Sanders. I’m sorry to contact you this way and I hate leaving this type of news in a message, but your mother was in an accident. It was a drunk driver, on the way home from a town council meeting and I’m very sorry, but Liz didn’t make it. If you’d like to call me back, I can give you more information. Again, Ms. Forbes, I’m very, very sorry.”

Caroline had been in the shower when she missed the call. She barely had a chance to listen before her phone was ringing again, this time it was Bonnie. Bonnie and Jeremy still lived in Mystic Falls; as quasi-humans they were aging normally and could stay in their hometown. Her best friend was already crying when she answered and the girls then cried together. From Bonnie, she learned the driver of the other car had died as well, which Caroline couldn’t help but be glad. She wasn’t sure she would be able to control her actions if the man responsible for her mother’s death had been around when she arrived in town. Bonnie had asked if there was anything she could do and for once, Caroline was at a loss. She had no idea what needed to be done except that she had to go home. 

She had thrown her most somber clothes in a bag and left immediately. Now she sat, staring at her phone as if it were going to give her the answers of how to process her mother’s death. She had text messages she should answer, but she couldn’t force herself to do so. She would talk to everyone at the funeral tomorrow morning. She had let Stefan know she was safe at the house; that would have to enough for the evening. 

Sitting in the silence of her old room, her grief finally hit Caroline. Tears fell steadily as she dropped her phone and covered her face with her hands. Her mother was never going to come walking down that hallway again to ask Caroline if she needed anything as she had on her visits home the last few years. Liz had been elected mayor and was as busy as ever, but when Caroline was visiting, she made it a point to be at the house as much as possible. Caroline gave into the hurt and sobbed.

Klaus heard Caroline crying when he turned on her street and gave a sigh of relief. He had left New Orleans as soon as he received a phone call from the younger Salvatore regarding Liz Forbes’s death. He had been in the air when Caroline had called to tell him the news and what was left of his heart broke at the tone of her voice. She was shattered after losing her last relative and he worried all through the trip that she would make the same choice Elena had when faced with a similar situation. The characteristic which made Caroline so special was how human she still was, even after fifteen years. It was what gave her the light, the light that entranced Klaus from their first meeting and kept him waiting on her. It was fear of losing that spark which caused him to drive like a maniac from the airport. Hearing her cry, while sad, meant she hadn’t flipped her emotional switch.

He pulled up to her house, parked and walked up the steps. He entered the house as quietly as possible and followed Caroline’s sobs to her old bedroom, the same room where she had first sparked his interest as he saved her life. She was sitting on the bed, face covered, but she froze as soon as she detected his presence. She moved her hands to see who had intruded on her private moment.

For a minute, she looked happy to see him, a tiny smile gracing her face. Then her expression changed dramatically, her eyes growing black and the dark veins appearing below. Her fangs descended as she lost the precious control she worked so hard to maintain. “This is all your fault,” she spat angrily, her voice almost a growl. She hadn’t moved from her seat, but her body was practically vibrating with fury.

Klaus was completely caught off guard. Liz had been hit by a drunk driver, according to his information. If she had been killed by a hybrid or even a vampire he had turned, he could understand Caroline’s anger. He didn’t have time to ask her meaning before she continued.

“You…you kept telling me about all the beautiful places in the world, all the things I was missing, sending me those postcards. So I went! I traveled and because of you I wasn’t here! If I had stayed in Mystic Falls I would have been here and I could have saved her!” She rose from the bed and took a giant step towards him, her fists balled up at her sides. “My blood could have saved her, you dick!”

Klaus breathed out heavily, counting to five in his head. Anyone else would be missing a limb after yelling at him, but this was Caroline, who was lashing out in pain. “Sweetheart, even if you had been in town you might not have been with her.” He didn’t want to add the detail Stefan had shared; that Liz had died on impact and had not suffered. 

“How do you know?! If I had been living here, I could have been giving her blood all the time!”

“And what would you have done here Caroline?” he asked, louder this time as his temper grew. “You would have to hide away from anyone who might notice you haven’t aged since high school. Surely you didn’t think you could live here all your life with people growing old all around you?”

“It wouldn’t have mattered because I would have been here with her!” With this statement, Caroline launched herself at Klaus. She attacked him in a flurry of arms, teeth and fists, her words unintelligible as her voice broke in pain. He couldn’t tell what she was saying and he was sure she didn’t know either. He caught her rather easily, even as she flailed against him, still ranting about how he was at fault. Her blows had no power behind them; she wasn’t hurting him at all. So he let her fight. She continued to scream and punch and cry for a few minutes, railing against the injustice of the universe. Finally, her fists struck his chest and then stayed and she swayed on her feet. The minute she clutched at his shirt, his arms came around her.

“Oh Caroline, sweetheart,” he pulled her to him. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, love. I’m so sorry.”

“She’s gone, Klaus,” she cried. “I don’t know what to do.” 

He stroked her hair, not knowing what to say or do to comfort her. He had absolutely no experience with this, as he was not the person people came to when hurt; he was generally the person inflicting the hurt. But for Caroline, he made an exception. “I’m sorry, love. Tell me what to do to make it better.” 

At his request, she looked up, tears still streaming down her face. “Will you stay with me tonight?” 

Klaus didn’t answer her, instead wiping her tears before lifting her off the floor and laying her on the bed. He brushed her hair out her eyes. “When was the last time you ate?” When she frowned as she tried to remember, he flashed out of the room and came back in a second with a blood bag. “Here, drink this and then you can get some sleep.” He shrugged off his jacket and turned back to Caroline. She was sipping her drink, her blue eyes blinking slowly as she did. It was obvious she was exhausted and he wasn’t sure how she had managed this far. He moved towards the chair to settle for the night.

“No,” Caroline protested softly. “Stay here with me,” she patted the bed next to her. “Please.”

As usual, Klaus found it impossible to refuse a wish from the girl who stole his heart. He lay down next to her and was pleasantly surprised when she curled into him, burying her head in his chest. He folded his arms around her, dropping a kiss on top of her blonde curls. She sniffed a bit, still crying a little, but in a few minutes, she stilled. He thought she had drifted off to sleep from her even breathing, so he was startled when she asked, “How’s your son?”

“He’s doing well, thank you.” He didn’t offer any more, knowing she needed rest. 

“Tell me about him. Tell me about New Orleans.” Then he understood. The quiet was bothering her, giving her a chance to think too much about what would happen tomorrow. So he started talking. He told her about Henrik and how he was doing in school and his new paintings and anything else which came to mind. Somewhere in the midst of his speaking, Caroline fell asleep.

The next morning wasn’t as awkward as it should have been. Caroline woke, at first confused by the man in her bed, but as the memory of the night before came back, she relaxed, still in Klaus’s arms. They had stayed intertwined for a few peaceful moments, before Caroline’s phone rang. Giving him a sheepish smile, she whispered, “Thank you,” and then answered Elena’s call. 

They had readied to leave in comfortable silence. Klaus could tell Caroline was struggling to keep her emotions in check. He escorted her to the cemetery, Caroling clinging to his arm as they approached the burial site. Stefan shook his hand as Caroline hugged her friends and accepted condolences, even Damon nodding in acknowledgement. If her friends thought it odd that she was with the Original, they didn’t say anything about it. And if any of the citizens of Mystic Falls noticed some people hadn’t seemed to age much in the last decade, no one mentioned that either. Once the ceremony began, Klaus moved to the back of the crowd, allowing Caroline to be comforted by the people who were now her family.

A parade of cars returned to Caroline’s house after the brief, but touching service. Klaus and Caroline were the last pair to get to the door, her steps dragging a bit. Before they entered, Klaus stopped. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m going to head out, love. You need to be with your friends now and I’m not quite sure that I’m entirely welcome by everyone.” 

“But you’re welcome by me,” she answered, placing a hand on his arm. 

“And that means more to me than you can imagine. But you need them now,” he gestured towards the open door. He stepped close to her, enough that he heard the slight catch in her breath. Brushing his fingertips across her cheek, he said “As I’ve told you many times before, we have centuries.” He gave her a subdued smile and turned to go.

Before he took very many steps, Caroline called after him. “Klaus, wait!” Once she was standing in front of him, she opened her mouth and then closed it, trying to find the right words. “Thank you,” she finally said. “Actually thank you doesn’t seem enough. For last night and for today. Just for…everything.” 

In a replay of her graduation night, he leaned forwarded and kissed her cheek. “You are welcome Caroline. My door will always be open to you. When you’re ready.” With that, he walked to his car and left. 

Caroline stood in the yard, eyes watering as she watched his car disappear. Her sorrow and confusion were the reason she didn’t hear the man behind her until he put a brotherly arm around her. “It’s okay to care about him, Caroline,” Stefan said. At his comment, she gave into her tears and leaned on his shoulder. The pair turned and walked into the house.


	4. The Non-Granted Wish

The Not-Granted Wish

Every single day, Caroline wondered if she had waited too long to admit her feelings for Klaus. Her mother’s death two years ago had brought a lot of things into perspective, but she still needed more time to come to terms with what she felt. Since then, Klaus had never been far from her thoughts. Their relationship had not changed much in that time; she still received random gifts and text messages and she still sent funny pictures and stories to him. Somehow sharing all those insignificant events with him had made her feel as though she knew him better than anyone else in her life even though she hadn’t seen him in months. But she still had her own issues to work through. It had been years since she had held any hatred for him, and quite a while since he had done anything to incur wrath from her friends, but that didn’t mean they would be overjoyed if she were to head east to join him. 

Stefan was the first to give Klaus an endorsement. His comment after her mother’s had been just the start. He had brought the hybrid’s name up more often the month’s following, finally asking Caroline just how she felt. After a few drinks, she finally admitted to liking him. Stefan had raised an eyebrow and waited patiently until she added that it might be more than liking him. Then her best friend had simply smiled, nodded and changed subjects.

Elena was next. During a rare Damon-free weekend, the girls had been relaxing by a pool when Elena had abruptly asked Caroline when she was going to New Orleans to be with Klaus. Caroline performed a literal spit take and stared at her friend in disbelief. Elena shrugged and explained she had talked to Stefan and wanted Caroline to know that it was alright. After everything the group had been through in the last two decades, Klaus was by no means the completely evil monster she had initially believed and if he made Caroline happy, then Elena was happy for her. 

The last one was the most unexpected. On her last trip to visit Damon and Elena, she hadn’t been able to sleep and had wondered into the study to read. She was startled out of her book by a male voice. “I’m sorry.” 

She had looked up to see Damon standing in the doorway. “It’s okay, I’ve read it before.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” The elder Salvatore was more subdued than she could remember him being in recent years. “I meant for everything that happened. Before, in Mystic Falls.” 

Caroline was surprised to say the least. She had made her peace with what had occurred between them a long time ago and had finally forgiven him. The events before her turning had never been mentioned since that night in New Orleans when Klaus had threatened Damon. “I know. That’s not the person you are now.”

He nodded and she waited, as he seemed to have something else to add. She was about to return to her book when he said, “You should go to him.” Her head whipped back up to meet his gaze. “I can’t stand the guy, but even I can see that you belong together. And you…you deserve to be happy.” With that he had left.

Caroline was mature enough to realize she didn’t need her friends’ approval to like a guy, or love or whatever it was she felt for Klaus. However, she was also smart enough to know that things would be much, much easier if she had it. A weight she hadn’t realized she was caring had been lifted from her shoulders. She had been researching plane tickets and hotels in New Orleans when her boss at the art gallery in Dallas had asked for a volunteer to claim a painting from the reclusive artist Niklaus Mikealson, she had jumped at the chance.

Caroline took a deep breath before raising her hand to knock on the door. She hadn’t been this nervous since she had planned her first dance, back in high school. She was standing on the porch of the house to which she had been given an invitation almost eighteen years ago, in a city she hadn’t visited in almost the same amount of time. She was on the verge of knocking again when the door was opened. Although it was a familiar face which greeted her, it wasn’t the one that she expected. She stared silently, and almost rudely, for a minute, taking in the features in front of her. He looked so much like Klaus, except without the centuries of loneliness and anger buried in his eyes. He did have Hayley’s hair and eye color, but the cheekbones and dimples definitely came from his father. 

“Caroline!” the boy greeted her. Henrik’s welcome surprised her; she had only seen Klaus’s son in pictures and had never met in person. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Henrik?” she asked hesitantly, wondering if she were somehow mistaken. “How did you…” she couldn’t find the right words to finish her question.

“Recognize you?” he filled in. “Are you kidding? I don’t know how many sketches and paintings I’ve seen of you over the years.” He stepped out on the porch and offered his hand. “It’s great to finally meet you,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

Caroline couldn’t help but return his gesture. Seeing Henrik was like seeing a happier, lighter version of her Original. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I wish I could stay and chat, but I have a study group to get to and I have to walk. I’m grounded,” he explained, rolling his eyes. A very Klaus-like gesture. “Dad’s upstairs in his studio. You can go on up, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you.” He bounded down the stairs like a typical teenager instead of the only son of a hybrid vampire/werewolf. “I’ll see you later, Caroline!” 

She was still smiling as she turned to enter the house. She had been a little worried about meeting Henrik, since she knew how important he was to Klaus. If their first meeting was any indication, she shouldn’t have been. She wandered into the house and up the grand staircase, listening for any sounds to clue her in to Klaus’s location. She heard a brush moving against a canvas at the end of the hallway, so she moved in that direction.

“Henrik, I told you. You’re still grounded from the car; I don’t care if you have to walk two miles to Caleb’s house.” Klaus announced, not turning around to see who was standing in the doorway. 

“That’s pretty mean, making your kid walk so far in the mean streets of New Orleans,” Caroline teased. She saw Klaus’s back straighten in surprise and she found herself holding her breath again as he slowly spun on the stool to face her. He looked exactly the same as he had twenty years ago when he made his first appearance in her hometown. Still ridiculously handsome for someone so capable of terrible things. And yet, those blue eyes that she had seen so icy and cold were filled with wonder and warmth as he realized who was visiting him. She bit her tongue to stop the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. “Henrik told me where you were, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Caroline.” And there it was. No one, in all the years she had traveled the world, meeting new people and experiencing new things, had managed to say her name in the same way. Whether it was his voice, his accent or the affection she could hear, his speaking of her name never failed to fill her stomach with butterflies. “You’re here,” he stated as he rose to move towards her. 

Suddenly the butterflies in her stomach multiplied and began flapped nervously. Caroline glanced around the room, taking in the many paintings that lined the walls, some hanging, some propped up. She recognized herself in a few, lending credence to Henrik’s statement of why he recognized her. Then she saw the painting she had been sent to claim. It was named simply Midnight, but the painting was rich with depth and feeling, like so much of his work. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. 

“Thank you,” he answered, his voice right next to her year. She had been so entranced in his work that she didn’t realize he had moved to stand behind her. “It’s a commissioned painting for a gallery in Dallas. Sweetheart…,” he began. 

She nodded and started speaking quickly, trying to calm her nerves. “I know. I’m here to pick it up. I thought it was the perfect time to visit, especially since I haven’t been here in so long. And you’ve promised to show me the city you love, so here I am. Ready to be shown.” She turned almost shyly to face him. What she saw was a complete surprise. The look of astonishment and affection which he had worn upon seeing her had been replaced with one of cool disinterest. She frowned, taken aback by his change of heart. “What’s wrong?”

“A perfect excuse to visit, don’t you mean, love?” Even her favorite term of endearment sounded cold to her. “This way it’s not because you wanted to be here, but because your boss sent you.” He turned back to the painting on which he had been working with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Collect your prize and go, Caroline.” 

Caroline’s mouth fell open in shock. She was finally in the very place where he had asked her to be so many times, and he was blowing her off. “Seriously?!” she cried, regressing to her favorite term as a teenager. “I’m finally here and you’re going to pout about the reason?”

“I’m not pouting, sweetheart,” he furiously brushed paint on the canvas in front of him. “Pardon me if I’m not thrilled about being a work assignment.” 

She stomped over to stand next to him, grateful her anger had dissolved her nervousness. Being mad at Klaus was much more comfortable than anything else. “Who cares why I’m here. I’m still here. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

At this statement, Klaus dropped his brush and stood again. “Oh yes, Caroline. I’ve been waiting with bated breath for you to show up on my doorstep to collect a bloody painting. I can hardly wait to hear what your next excuse will be. Possibly more of my cure-all blood for your idiotic friends? Or maybe your latest boyfriend has left you and you’re looking for comfort. I realize I’ve set a standard for giving you whatever you wish, but lines must be drawn.”

“So what, everything you’ve said to me was a lie? All the presents and the reminders of what I was missing, were those an amusement until something better came along? How you would wait for me, wanted to be my last love, those were just words?” Caroline lashed out, suddenly terrified her worst fear had come true and she had missed her chance. Maybe she had misread the tone of his voice when he greeted her. Then a horrible idea hit her. He was raising a child with another woman; it was entirely possible that relationship had developed into something deeper. 

“Forgive me, love, but I had rather hoped when you decided to come here it would be for…” he trailed off, his jaw tightening. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, he was staring at her coldly. “I’ve changed my mind, actually. You can’t have the painting. Go back to your boss and explain your failure.” He turned slowly to face the nearby window.

Baby vampire Caroline would have screeched and thrown a fit, complete with shouting and name-calling. Grown-up vampire Caroline however had seen the flash of hurt in Klaus’s eyes before he had a chance to regroup. She realized now why he was upset. He didn’t know she had been falling in love with him steadily for years; that she would have been in New Orleans with or without her job. Knowing that he still cared, that her seeming refusal to admit that she wanted to be with him had hurt him, gave her the courage she needed to explain.

“Okay,” she answered. “I’ll do that. I’ll go back to Dallas and tell him that I didn’t get the painting. Or better yet, I’ll call him right now. And then I’ll go back downstairs and out the door and sit on your porch until you realize that I’m not here just for the painting. I’ll wait, as long as it takes, until you believe that I’m not here just because my boss asked me to. Until you believe that I’ve been headed here for years. But mostly that I’m sorry it took me so damn long to realize that I love you.” 

She had made three steps out the door when Klaus’s hand on her arm stopped her. “What did you say?” he whispered, his eyes no longer cold and flat. 

The tears Caroline had been struggling to hold back emerged at the touch of his hand. “I said I love you, you big stupid hybrid. I’m not really here for that painting, I’m here for...,” she never got the chance to finish, as Klaus’s lips crashed into hers. 

For fifteen years, Caroline had fantasized about what it would be like to kiss Klaus. The first time his lips, his real lips, not Tyler’s, had brushed her cheek after graduation had caused her to blush furiously for weeks after and had added fuel to the attraction fire that had been building. Her imagination had not been even in the same universe as reality. His lips were soft and strong, taking and giving, thrilling and comfortable all at the same time. She knew then that everything that had happened to her, good and bad, had led her to this moment. She was exactly where she was meant to be. 

Hours later, both of them sated and tangled in Klaus’s expensive sheets, he pulled Caroline into his arms, kissed her temple and sighed, “Welcome home, love.”


End file.
